Dizzypad iPhone review

Dizzypad starred in an early instalment of our feature: The best free iPhone games, which kinda gives the game away a little, in the sense that it’s both (a) free, and (b) rather good.

In Dizzypad, you control a little frog, and the aim is simply to jump across an endless series of lily pads. If you miss a pad and end up in the drink, you lose a life. Well, if the iPhone has taught us anything about mobile gaming, it’s that the simplest ideas work best.

The aforementioned lily pads spin constantly, so you have to time your jumps and tap the screen when you’re ready to leap. Dizzypad is moderately forgiving, in that you don’t have to be 100% accurate; the lily pads will suck you in a little, though it’s still fairly easy to miss them if you lose focus.

Dizzypad encourages ballsy behaviour. Occasionally it’s possible to bypass one pad and make it to another further up the screen, but it demands super-accurate timing. If you pull it off, you get an extra life.

The game features a ton of achievements, and each time you unlock one you’re awarded with a new frog skin. There are 20 in total to collect, adding an element of replayability for obsessive types like me.

The sound in Dizzypad is great. The lazy banjo tune perfectly compliments the laid back feel of the game, and the little frog ribbits when you leap. Combined with the reflection of the moon in the water, Dizzypad has an almost hypnotic effect.

Pros

Basic but effective visuals

Sounds great

20 skins to collect

Cons

Very samey – all you do is leap, really

Summary: Dizzypad is undeniably basic but hugely effective. It might not last ages, since there’s nothing to do but leap and collect frog skins, but it’s massively endearing and definitely worth checking out.